This week kicked off with a bang. I preached yesterday with a translator…first time for me. Thankfully John Matthew was a phenomenal translator. 🙂 and the worship music is like nothing else. Who knows, I might even be able to learn how to dance!

On Monday Sandra finally got to go to the orphanage. The kids there are fascinated with long hair, and love to play with it. Sandra's red hair is even more of a novelty! (see picture) She came home with quite a bit fewer strands, but had fun nonetheless. The whole team from Seneca Creek is a delight to serve with. They continue to "Ignite HOPE" here in Tanzania. 🙂

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Today was the first day we got to serve at the clinic, the orphanage, & the carpentry. Wow! Stories of God showing up, guiding, providing, and more. And the eye-opening, soul- shaking experiences of seeing the poverty leave us in tears. We are so dependent on God here. We're learning to pray, to flex, and to serve. We're releasing our "rights" on a regular basis. And this entire team is nothing short of a joy to serve with. Thank God for each of them!!

Tonight during dinner the skies finally cleared, and we got to see Mt Meru. Everyone put down their forks & ran to the roof to see. (see photo) And just then the music from the adjacent church was playing, "shout to the Lord!" Truly a worshipful, mountain-top moment. 🙂

We're still hoping to see Kilimanjaro before we leave…just need clear skies in the other direction.

– Mark Tindle

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Today I was reading Jesus’ scathing comments to the Pharisees in Matthew 23.  He blasts them for not practicing what they preach.  He scolds them for doing religious things so others would notice.  He accuses them of being the blind leading the blind.  He labels them snakes.  But then he pulls out the “H” word.  Hypocrites.  Not once, not twice, not three times, but SIX TIMES he calls them hypocrites.  (They sound like folks to avoid at all costs, don’t they?) 

I often find the Pharisees easy to dislike.  I like to imagine how much different I am, you know, with my knowledge of God’s grace through Jesus Christ.  Silly Pharisees…all worried about things that don’t matter. 

Then later this morning I opened an email from www.throwmountains.com  (which, by the way, is a totally worthwhile site).  And one line in the email hit me between the eyes.  It was a “Mirror, mirror on the wall” moment.  It said…

Hypocrisy happens when I care more about what people think of me than what God thinks of me.

Ever look in the mirror and wish you hadn’t? Yeah.  That’s what happened.  Silly Pharisees.  Silly pastor.  Mirror, mirror that I see, wonder what God thinks of me. 

What do you see in your mirror?

School’s out and summer’s here! And with summer comes all kinds of opportunities to go places and do things. So as you make your summer plans, I’d encourage you to adopt a “summer reading program” which is unlike any you’ve tried before. There are no paperback books or bestsellers. In fact, there’s no reading required on your part! Here’s how it works.

Your life is a story…it’s the story of what God is doing in your life. And your “story” is being read by those around you. So during your summer travels, remember that WHEREVER you are, SOMEONE is engaged in a summer reading plan, and YOU’RE the story that they’re reading! What does that story look like? Is it an interesting display of the Author’s masterful work?

And if you’re wondering whether it’s important, or worthwhile to make Sunday worship gathering a part of your weekend, remember this: People walk through the door each Sunday morning looking for good “reading material.” They’re looking to see if God is writing a story they can believe in. A story they can relate to. A story that will inspire or encourage them. A story of hope. So by simply showing up and letting God direct your conversations on Sunday morning, you could be part of someone else’s life-changing “summer reading program.” Never underestimate the power of a story.

What’s your story? Let someone else read it this week.

So this morning we had a great discussion (thank you Dave Dillon). And as usual, I took too much time, and had to chop things out as I went along. I hurriedly mentioned a couple resources as place to begin the journey of learn what we can about faith and our political views. Here are the books I mentioned:

God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, Jim Wallis
Red Letter Christians: A Citizens Guide to Faith and Politics, Tony Campolo
The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church, Gregory Boyd

If you’re not much of a reader, here are a couple video links worth exploring:

The Myth of a Christian Nation (Part 1 of an interview with Gregory Boyd and Charlie Rose)
God and Politics 2008 (this is the longer version from which Sunday’s clip was taken).

Feel free to add your thoughts, comments, questions, and suggestions below.

I recently watched an episode of the popular TV series, “Biggest Loser.” And I’m beginning to understand why it’s so popular. Here’s what jumped out at me as I watched:

• These people are honest about their struggles.
• Their lives are actually changing.
• They depend on their team to help them.
• They take seriously the impact they have on the rest of the team.
• They don’t want anyone to have to “lose,” (a.k.a. leave the show) even those whom they don’t like
• They’re all experiencing hope.

We’re attracted to these things. What’s more, this is a GREAT picture of what the church could be. Think about it:

• Honesty about struggles
• Genuine life change
• Depending on one another
• Accountability to the team
• Desiring to see everyone “win” even through conflict
• Experiencing HOPE.

How many of these are present in your church? Or your life? Personally, I’m about 4 out of 6. I’d love it if you could share your thoughts, ideas and experiences in this area. Just click on the “comments” section below this note.

The Super Bowl turned out to be a decent game. And plenty of us watched it. But 7 days earlier was the Pro Bowl, a game which many of us did NOT watch. The game was even moved from it’s traditional time slot one week after the Super Bowl in an effort to boost viewers. But the problem is not the time slot…the problem is the game. The reason I (and many others) don’t watch the Pro Bowl is simple: there’s nothing at stake. It doesn’t matter. It’s just for show. Plenty of talent and skills, but nothing’s on the line.

Contrast that with the Super Bowl. Everything’s on the line. Teams have worked all year, and many players have worked their entire career for this game. Everything is at stake. Every play matters. And THAT is what makes it so “watchable.”

It got me to thinking about church. Is church like the Pro Bowl, or the Super Bowl. A Pro Bowl church has plent of talent and skills, but week after week, it’s as if nothing is on the line. On the other hand, a Super Bowl church realizes that what they do matters. A Super Bowl church understands that EVERY week, EVERY thing is at stake!

• What’s at stake is the young child who has yet to learn that Jesus wants to be their “forever friend.”
• What’s at stake is the adolescent who experiences a God who accepts them, even when their peers won’t.
• What’s at stake is the man who’s had success at work, but is searching for a life worth living.
• What’s at stake is the couple wondering if God can restore their crumbling marriage
• What’s at stake is the spiritual explorer looking for a place to ask tough questions about faith and God
• What’s at stake is the woman who’s blown it big time and is searching for a God who will give her a second chance.

Every week at Seneca Creek we serve and sacrifice because of what’s at stake! We take to the field to ensure that people can find a pathway to the God who created them, the God who loves them, and the God who longs to redeem and restore them for a life that matters. And we “suit up” in order to blaze the trail to the adventure of following Jesus in every aspect of life. In short, we refuse to be a “Pro Bowl” church. This week, the Super Bowl is on again. Get your game on!

Yes, it’s happened again. The snow has fallen over the weekend and the county has opted to close the schools. But, we’ve got a plan that will allow us to still “meet” together. This Sunday at 11:00 a.m. we’ll broadcast our first-ever live webcast worship service. From the convenience of your own home you’ll be able to participate with everyone else simply by accessing the event through your computer. And yes, you can bring your bagels and coffee with you. 🙂 Here’s what you need to know.

On Sunday morning, go to our website and click on the main slide that will be counting down to our service time. We encourage you to “show up early” to look around. We’ll have the happenings online, as well as links to upcoming events and online giving, and even a connection card that you can fill out and submit via our website. Plan for an extra 10 minutes at least to get acclimated to the features. We’ll even have a chance for you to interact with others at Seneca Creek through live chat.

At this point we don’t know what the roads will be like on Sunday. But if they’re not too bad, and if you want to create a little community and participate in this event with others, we encourage you to gather with a couple other friends and enjoy the webcast together. If you’re in a small group you may want to try getting together. If you’re not in a group and wonder if any other Seneca Creek folks are in your area, why not visit our Facebook site and ask around. Just be cautious sharing confidential information. You may want to use the message function for specific info.

If you have friends who can’t go to their church because of the snow, invite them to join you online this Sunday at www.senecacreek.org.

So whether you’re by yourself, with family, or with a group, we’re looking forward to seeing you online this Sunday morning. And as always, we welcome your suggestions on how to make it even more helpful for you. See you on the webcast!

It’s easy to believe that God is acutely aware of all my shortcomings. Which is true. But it’s easy to then believe that God is mostly interested in my shortcomings. I think he’s more interested in my success. And by success I don’t mean money, or many of the other means by which we measure it. I mean he wants me to fully live. To become everything he had in mind. I think God is kinda like a parent who stands on the sidelines cheering their child on. “Way to go! You can do it! You’re almost there! I believe in you!”

In fact…if I’m really still for a moment, I think I can hear him cheering. And it inspires me to press on. Can you hear him?

It seems like the problem is not that we make (and then neglect) resolutions, but rather that we don’t make enough resolutions. Once a year is too infrequent. Life doesn’t stand still for 12 months. I want to keep growing, changing, and pursuing the life God has called me to. So here’s some of my resolutions to get started with in January:

1. Ask five key questions at then end of each day:
• What did I procrastinate today?
• Whom did I encourage today?
• How did I lead others today?
• What am I proud of today?
• Where did God show up today?

2. Make a new resolution each month

3. Blog weekly

4. Become a better leader by asking more questions, evaluating more systematically, and trying more ideas

5. Quit using unkind words

What are some of your resolutions? Join the conversation by clicking on the word “comments” below this line, or try this link.